The Playlist: Lushlife / Foals / Haim / Earl Sweatshirt / Rudimental (ft Angel Haze) / Soley

Lushlife - Magnolia

LUSHLIFE "MAGNOLIA" [DIR. LAMAR+NIK] from LAMAR+NIK on Vimeo.

Foals - My Number



Haim - Don't Save Me



Earl Sweatshirt - Chum



Rudimental - Hell Could Freeze Feat. Angel Haze



Sóley - I'll Drown Moritz Guhling's Tränen Remix

On The Days We Were Together, Time Would Glide.

Frank Ocean, of Odd Future fame, came out today. A huge step for hip-hop and gay rights. But what intrigued me the most was how beautifully he did it. Frank used all the tools in his songwriting quota to put together an elequent and vivid explanation.

Odd Future: Oldie

I think it's fair to say that few music videos can sum up a band as Oldie did for Odd Future. And it's far from the most complex of videos.



From the start Tyler could sense that there this was something worth filming and didn't care if it pissed people off or ruined Terry Richardson's photoshoot. This song is ten minutes long. Yet that is not long enough. This is largely due to the fact that almost every member of OF (no doubt Syd was on the beat) gets their camera time to spit their verse. And they spit it well. The mysterious Earl is there. Even Frank Ocean (who looks like the group's babysitter more than ever) can rap. Tyler doesn't hog the lime-light, yet you always get the feeling this is all going to his plan.

The Odd Future boys have clearly stepped up their game with their second mixtape. As a collective, they never really hit it for me, never lived up to the hype - if possible. There was always talent in there, see Hodgy, See Tyler, see Syd - but it was always just a bit of a mess together. But they're most definitely stepping up their game. However at no point in the video do they take it too seriously (see Jasper yelling out he's not a rapper and doesn't know his verse, see the water pistols and lightsaber). It is Odd Future after all.

Tyler's final lines sum up OF perfectly: "They say we ain’t acting right / Always try to turn our fucking color into black and white / But they’ll never change him, never understand him / Radical's my anthem / Turn my fucking amps up / So instead of critiquing and bitching, being mad as fuck / Just admit: Not only are we talented, we’re rad as fuck."

Frank Ocean: Swim Good.

This was a treat to come back from holiday to. The Odd Future boys are making some serious moves, Tyler is winding everybody up and winning a Moonman, Hodgy Beats is producing some serious stuff and Frank Ocean has produced one of the first R&B albums I have liked in a long time. Swim Good is probably the showpiece track from his album Nostalgia/Ultra, and it has finally got some pretty epic visuals. It's directed by Nabil would was also behind the Bon Iver Holocene video which was another treat for your eyes. And he's done it again with Frank Ocean, it doesn't all make sense, but why should we care?

Frank Ocean: Novacane.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Odd Future's got talent. It may not be a talent you particularly adhere to, but you definitely should appreciate it. Though Frank Ocean didn't direct his latest video himself, I'm sure he was right in there with the styling and content of it. It's a great reflection of the song as it gets inside it's dark and murky lyrics and brings that to a visual status.

Frank Ocean: Acura Integurl

Another great visual feast for your eyes, this time from Odd Future's Frank Ocean. This video has some beautiful shots and top editing and is a world apart from Tyler's Yonkers, and so it should be. I love the colours and filters used in the video and the credit must go to director Dave Wilson. Enjoy.

Just Fucking Do It.

Music Monday 50.

Wow, 50 that's kind of special. Thanks to everyone that checks out the blog every week, or even more often, it really does mean a lot. And thanks for everyone who puts up with my shameless plugging on Twitter and Facebook. It's a pretty huge dance special (almost entirely) this week for you. Here we go.

Toddla T - Take It Back (Dillon Francis Remix)



It’s amazing what a remix can do to a song, sometimes it takes some of the original and just freshens it up a bit, sometimes it can completely destroy a song and there’s the times that it completely transforms it into a new beast. The original Toddla T track featuring Shola Ama and J2K, is ok, just ok. However when Dillion Francis got his mucky mits on it, the song went straight from just ok to incredible. This track does everything I want it to, just when I want it to. Needless to say it’s been on repeat.

Jakwob - Right Beside You



Jakwob is one of my favourite producers and has been for some time now, whether it’s with his remixes or tracks under his own name, it’s always some special. Jakwob always seems to manage to produce soemthing new and different from everyone else, yet strangely familiar. Great new track.

DJ Fresh - Louder



Remember Gold Dust? Remember how good that tune was? Well DJ Fresh is back with Louder, a song that you’ll likely to become pretty familiar with over the next few weeks. Not only will it be all over the radio, but it’s also backing the latest Lucozade advert. I don’t think it quite lives upto Gold Dust, but it’s a big summer tune anyways.

The Bullitts - Landspeeder



Here we are, back to some hip hop. And what a way to come back. This is the latest installment from the hip hop project, The Bullitts. Another fantastic, cinematic effort, it is definitely the sort of thing that can be expected in the future from a projected that includes Jay Electronica, Mos Def and a narration from Lucy Liu. I simply can’t wait to hear the finished article, it’s truly going to be something special.

Tyler The Creator and Frank Ocean - She



When I first heard Frank Ocean, I wasn’t really sure how he fitted into Odd Future, but this track with OF front man Tyler shows that they can go hard and soft, all in the same song. An impressive effort from a group that continue to impress and will do so for a long time.

Music Wednesday 48.

Wednesday?? I know, I'm sorry. I've been in London the last few days, mainly to see City and Colour (more of that is to come later), so this is the first chance I've had to catch up. But never fear, it is definitely worth the wait.

Skrillex - Slats Slats Slats



Straight in there, this is how to start off this week's post: some electro-dub dance from DJ Skrillex. I've literally had this tune on repeat all week. I love the rhythms, the contrast of dub and trance horns, the way it bounces around all of the place. It's just so perfect for summer, just imagine this with some cider and sun. See?

Lower Than Atlantis - Motorway of Life



And whilst the tempo's high, Lower Than Atlantis. It's rare for a band in this genre to sound this good live, trust me I've seen of them, and with another track from their new album it only makes me want to see them more. It's nothing boundary stretching, but sometimes it's good to sit in the familiar.

Tom Vek - A Chore



Yeah Tom Vek is back, pretty much from out of the blue. It's a great comeback single coupled with a cool video. Just enjoy, the man is back.

Frank Ocean - Swim



If you know Odd Future, then you'll probably know of Tyler, Hodgy Beats and Earl, but here's the latest talent to emerge from the gang, Frank Ocean. Have a listen. Yes he really is in Odd Future, I know. It doesn't really make sense, this is so not OF, but it really shows the diversity and talent this group has in there, which will only continue their destruction and dominance of the music industry.

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Killed It.

I posted earlier the incredible Adele performance from The Brit Awards this TV performance, is something else. There is so much hype over Odd Future, it is unreal, and their front man, Tyler The Creator is another level of unreal. I'm still trying to get my head around them, they're not an easy pill to swallow. But it certainly looks like they know how to put on a show, a very very weird show.